Hurricane Chronicles
by Grumblemumble
Summary: The Chunin Exams are here!
1. Chapter 1

**Notes about the story:**

**It skips times in random places.**

**I listened to "I Can Go the Distance" for over half of this chapter**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**Only my OC, Haruishi Hara and her parents.**

**I will stop skipping in random places once I get to Shippuden.**

**Enjoy.  
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><p><em>My eyes fluttered open. Why couldn't I move? I wondered.<em>

_I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Realization hit me as I suddenly knew that I was only two months old._

_"Your memories are coming back to you." A voice whispered in my head._

_"What?" I asked in the brightness of my room. I was in a small room, made just for the new born baby._

_"You're two months old. You were born again, as your wish wanted." The voice murmured again._

_That was correct. I had wished to start over, and it happened. Be careful what you wish for._

_"Where am I?" Closing my eyes, I knew I needed sleep but I couldn't go just yet._

_"In a world where shinobi rule." The voice faded away and as did I._

**10 minutes later:**_  
><em>

My eyes opened again, but this time I was in someone's arms. I didn't see her as my mother; my instincts didn't allow that.

She sang softly, switching between humming and lyrics. I knew that song from somewhere, but it wouldn't register. Had she sung it during pregnancy? Probably.

Her voice was familiar, but it wasn't my real mothers. I couldn't move on my own free will. My jaw clenched in anger. I would have to suffer for the next three years; two if I was lucky.

What could I do for the next two years? I thought aloud knowing I was only making cooing and gurgling sounds. This pleased my mother for she held me tighter.

Meditate, was the first thing that came to my mind. I felt something stir inside of my stomach, and I knew instantly that feeling was actually chakra. If I could meditate and learn to control that, I would be golden.

Not denying I felt safe and warm in the mother's embrace I began to fade once more.

**1 Month later:**

Awakening I had realized another month had passed. How could time have gotten away from me like that? I wish I could have shaken my head.

I took deep breaths and concentrated on peaceful thoughts. The color of my room was pale gold. My crib was white. These were peaceful colors. I focused on them and evened out my breathing.

"She doesn't cry." I heard as I my mother held me close. I knew from that moment she was not a shinobi. Neither was the man I called my father, as he stroked my head.

I followed all of his movements with calculating eyes. Something they both noticed right away. "She seems smarter than she lets on."

They both had dark hair, and light colored eyes. I cursed myself for not being able to tell the colors from this far away. Closing my eyes, I knew it was time for a peaceful nap.

I woke up in a gurgled cry. "My mouth!" I screamed to no one. My eye twitched as i knew I was teething. Did my wish honestly have to make me endure these years and so soon? Babies didn't teeth at three months, did they?

My mother ran to my crib, humming that same familiar tune. I'm teething, woman. I do not need a lullaby. My mind became fuzzy as I stopped my tantrum. Maybe I did need soothing, this was the only way to do it.

**6 Months Later:**

After months of enduring the hardships that came with teething and learning how to walk and talk, I excelled. I knew these by heart, it was just being in a tiny body with an over sized head that kept me off balance. At 6 and a half months I was already talking, with a somewhat slurred speech.

At 8 months I asked for a book to read. They stared at me oddly, but gave me what I asked for.

The words looked strange, and I realized very quickly I had to relearn everything that is taught. Even if I knew it in my head. I could do this. I spent the last 7 months meditating when ever I had woken up for a few hours a day.

I sat down hard on my butt, and I began to memorize the words. "Read." I said, and quickly added a please. "Go over the sounds."

They did, and after another week I had finally started to understand and memorize the sounds and words. The letters took a few days longer, but I could live with that.

**18 Months later:**

At the age of two I could talk, read and walk with out any trouble. The term "They grow up so fast!" Was ever apparent in me.

"Do you think she should be enrolled in the Academy, Haruki?" My mother's tone was questioning, and my father's response was just the same.

"I'm not sure, Akahana." He replied.

"Mamma," I was a sweet young girl. I was never demanding or threw any more tantrums

"Yes, Haruishi-chan?" She asked, picking me up.

"I would like to go in a couple of years. Before that, I would like more books about chakra." They accepted and made me promise I would become a great kunoichi.

**36 Months later:**

"I'm going to Suna," Haruki said, "Before you attend the academy, would you like to come with me? It'll be about a week away from home."

I nodded. "I would like to go."

We set off, my father giving me a piggyback ride. "I'm do a lot of trading between the two villages, even though we're not the greatest allies right now."

"Why aren't we?" I asked.

"A few years back, A Wind daimyo started giving Konoha more missions than Suna. This lead to lack of funding in Suna, so we're not on the greatest terms." He explained.

I nodded my head, and closed my eyes.

**3 Days later:**

I awoke to finally see we had reached the suna gates, our wagon still full of goods. I noted they were all mostly kept in one piece.

"You can play..." The light haired man gave me a smile, "If you want." Bouncing a ball towards me, I let it roll to my feet.

Shrugging I picked it up, watching as other kids played. I wasn't great with playing with other children, so I decided not to.

I sat down on the edge of a sand box, noticing a red head beside me. Putting my elbows on my knees, I rolled the ball towards him.

I gasped as Sand shot out before him, tossing the ball away. "Hey!"

"I'm...I'm sorry." The voice mumbled.

"You didn't have to be so rough with it." I glared at the boy for a moment, before noticing how sad he was. "I'm sorry."

"What.." The green eyed boy stared in wonder.

"I shouldn't have gotten upset. The heat has gotten to me." I replied, fetching the ball and sitting back down.

I tried rolling it towards him again, and this time it stopped at his feet. "See, no threat!"

"I..I guess not!" He smiled cheerfully at me, and I mirrored him.

"I'm Haruishi." We rolled the ball back and forth with our feet as we talked.

"I'm Gaara." He replied.

for the next few moments, we 'played'. "I like your eyes, Gaara-san. Yet, I must be going. Father will be waiting for me. Goodbye, Gaara-san."

He reached out, "Wait..." The tears in his eyes made me stop. "You're the only one not afraid of me..."

"Is there a reason I should be afraid of you?" I marched up to him, and circled him. "I see no fangs, horns, tails or scales."

"I'm a monster." He sniffled.

"Uh." I began to laugh, Causing him to become angry.

"Why are you laughing at me?" He hissed.

"I don't see you as a monster, Gaara-san! You're my height! I do not see that as intimidating!" I held my hand over my mouth, dying as I kept back my laughter.

All the red head did was stare at me in confusion.

"Goodbye, Gaara-san. It was great meeting you.." I left with a wave of my hand.

**1 Week later:**

I stared at my father and mother, "I'm..actually nervous."

"You're nervous?" My mother giggled. "You've remembered everything since the first two months you were born. I'm sure you'll do well."

Actually I remember my last life as well. I spoke English, Russian and a little Danish, a little voice piped up from the back of my mind.

My father ruffled my hair. "You've spent the last five years learning, whats five more?"

I looked up and nodded. "I'll see you soon."

Through the whole day, we were supposed to get to know one another. I shoved my hands into my pockets as lunch came around, already finished. I watched with mild interest as kids my age talked and laughed. Yet one girl with bright pink hair sat in a corner visibly shaking.

Most kids wouldn't notice the shaking, but that's because their eyes weren't trained yet. I walked over to her, and sat down. She was completely different from the Gaara kid I had met yet she had the same sad eyes. I wondered briefly what my eyes looked like.

"Wise beyond your years." My parents would say. Were my eyes old? Did they give off intelligence? Shaking my head I sighed. "Why are you shaking?"

"No one wants to be my friend." She sniffled out.

"It's been one day. You've go the next five years to make a friend." I reassured her. She gave me a big smile, but she still had tears in her eyes.

**72 Months later:**

Lunch was finally over and before I knew it 6 years had gone by. Every day I would train and push myself until I collapsed. I wasn't great at taijutsu, but I excelled in chakra control and genjutsu. Ninjutsu was slightly harder than genjutsu but I was better at it than my hand to hand combat skills.

The pink haired girl I had tried to become friends with had grown out of her shell and was best friends with Ino, but she couldn't pass as a shinobi. Her parents removed her after a few more months. I didn't know the reasons but I assumed it was because of that.

My hair was a natural bleached blonde; nearly white. It went to my collar bone and framed my face. My bangs stopped right at my eyebrows, making them slightly short. I would wear my forehead protector around my forehead when I obtained it. My eyes were light blue and there wasn't anything special about them.

I wore a simple v neck robe I tied with a white sash over a sleeveless turtleneck like mesh shirt. The robe went to my thighs, and under that were my shorts that went to my knees. I put on my black open heeled shinobi sandals.

Today, we were going to meet our new sensei, since we had finally graduated yesterday.

"Make us proud!" my mother yelled as she waved me off. My father held her tightly, and I merely nodded.

Walking towards the academy, i reflected on the past couple of years.

I had been happy, caring and helpful to those in need. I was at the top of my class and I was extremely quiet. Not a creepy quiet, I just never had too much to say.

**2 Hours later:**

"Team Seven. Naruto Uzumaki, Haruishi Hara and Sasuke Uchiha."

"Team Eight, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame,"jkj

I didn't hear team nine as I sat quietly in the middle of Naruto and Sasuke as they bickered in short whispers.

"Team ten, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi"

With the class dismissed, I suggested we wait for our sensei.

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto was overly joyed and I suppressed a giggle.

The boy beside me grunted, just to show he was in fact listening.

It was nearly two hours later when he finally arrived and did not at all appreciate the harmless joke Naruto played.

**18 Hours later:**

Before we knew it, we stood in front of the Join as he told us to strike with the intent to kill him. I knew he wouldn't be harmed, we were just kids to him after all. Taking a deep breath and before I could even exhale, Naruto had charged at him.

"Uzumaki-san!" I scolded loudly.

"I haven't even said start yet." He sighed. "Now you may begin."

We all took our respective hiding places, except for Naruto. As the fight continued, Kakashi-sensei caught me.

"Eh, Haru-chan. That genjutsu didn't seem to work." He noticed.

"Sorry, I have an eye for that sort of thing." Calculating his movements, I did the hand seals for my mystic lightning technique.

I ended with the tiger seal and pointed my fingers at Kakashi. Lightning circulated my hands as I let the chakra go straight for him. The weird thing was that it came back to me and I screamed "Release!"

The Jonin had caught me in a genjutsu, I bitterly thought.

My anger getting the better of me, I did the hand seals again, charging straight for him. "Kaminari yashi no jutsu!"

The lightning flared out and shocked my hands before it got anywhere close to the silver haired man. I screamed in pain trying to blow on my finger tips. Biting my tongue, and holding back tears I rolled my shoulders. I used up a little more chakra than I should, and I took a fighting stance.

"Are you sure you can fight with your hands all burnt like that?" Naruto yelled.

I shot him a glare "Don't underestimate me, Uzumaki-san."

With incredible speed, the jonin dodged my attack, elbowing my spine. The force caused me to cry out in pain, but I quickly recovered, throwing my leg into a round house as I aimed for his neck.

He dodged each blow I threw at him, and with will I grabbed shuriken and kunai to throw as well. Kakashi found an opening on my stomach and took it.

I flew back into the trees and closed my eyes. "Got it."

When I awoke ten minutes later, I had realized I had only grabbed a piece of cloth from Kakashi. He knew I had almost gotten the bell and quickly replaced it. I cursed my luck, and realized it was time for lunch.

Naruto was tied to a post, while Sasuke and I started to eat our lunch. Kakashi distinctly said we couldn't feed Naruto.

He upset me earlier by trapping me into the jutsu, I was going to feed my teammate whether he liked it or not. Sasuke caught on and just grunted.

"Here, Uzumaki-san. Uchiha-san and I will let you have half of our lunches, if you work with us to get the bells." I smiled politely and began to feed the blue eyed boy. He and Sasuke were older than me by a few months.

"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Kakashi explained, a harshness in his voice.

I stared at him, my eyes wide with sudden fear. He had finished his whole rant, leaving us speechless. "But, You guys pass!" He smiled and waved, walking away. "Meet me at the bridge in the morning!"

"Eh!" Naruto screeched, "We're shinobi!"

**1 Hour later:**

My headache grew as I walked home, I needed food since I had given most of it to Naruto. Also I had used up way too much chakra with that stupid technique.

"You're home!" My mother smiled, embracing me.

"Yes. I passed. I am now officially a kunoichi of Konoha. A genin." I insisted that I was okay, and I just needed food after she heard my slurred speech and short breaths.

As I ate, I told my mother and now present father about my new teammates and sensei. "They're all really nice and very strong. I hope I can be like Hatake-sensei one day."

**3 Weeks later:**

The days went by as we found cats for villagers, or tended gardens. We did manual labor, and Kakashi helped out only once. At the end of the day, I walked towards the memorial stone, flowers in hand.

I stood there for a long moment, not noticing Kakashi had appeared beside me. "Good evening,Haru-chan."

"Good evening, Hatake-sensei." I placed the flowers down. "I think this memorial stone deserves flowers every once in awhile. I believe all of our loved ones look down on us from time to time, and if they see flowers, they know we are thinking about them; missing them."

"That's nice of you, I believe that as well." I could tell he smiled at me by the crinkle of his eye. He placed his hand on the top of my head, and we stood in silence.

After nearly five total minutes of silence i softly broke it. "I want to become a medic-nin."

"Is that so?" He asked. I merely nodded, and bid him a goodnight.

**The Next Day:**

We stood in front of the hokage's office, while Naruto yelled at him. "Uzumaki-san!" I scolded, reeling him back by his collar.

"Look! I want something more than just stupid labor missions! I want an actual mission!" He yelled, and I knew that had sealed our fate.

"Dobe." Sasuke sighed, clenching his jaw.

"Eh, what was that, teme?" As they started to fight, I took a step forward and bowed.

"My apologies of Uzumaki-sans outburst. Yet, I do agree with him. It would be helpful for all of us if we could just let Naruto have one little mission." I gave him my prettiest smile, and the Hokage nodded.

"There is one mission, Naruto." He said and that started our mission.

**4 Days Later:**

All hope seemed lost as Naruto jumped into Haku's Ice Mirrors. I cried out in pain, had being injured by Zabuza a few short minutes ago. Blood was slowly seeping into my lungs, and I knew i would drown in it if I didn't heal myself soon.

"Sensei-" I choked out,

"Guard Tazuna-san, Haru-chan." He ordered, and I jumped back to check on the man.

"You should heal yourself," He suggested.

I looked for the wound and healed the internal injury. For a few more minutes, I coughed up blood and other odd fluids from my body. How could I have been so careless? It had just been a water clone that Sasuke had missed.

"Hatake-sensei," I struggled to take a small step forward. "Forgive me."

Focusing my chakra into my arms and legs, I quickly ran into the jutsu, "Lightning palm no jutsu!"

I made sure none of the chakra got near my teammates, and they were safe from harms way as I collapsed in pain and defeat.

I had weakened Haku enough to be spotted by Sasuke and Naruto, leading to his demise.

Crawling towards them, "Are...you both..alright?" I began to heal their wounds, despite by best efforts I barely had any green chakra emit from my hands.

I had only seen glimpse of Zabuza's dead body as I came to. Yet I just fell back into darkness.

_"You gave up your old life for a life filled with death?" The voice I hadn't heard in 11 yeras whispered._

_"Every life has death." I yelled, frustrated in this eternal darkness._

_"You're 11 and you have seen your first two deaths." It's voice was tense. "Technically 31 if you count your other life."_

_"I would have died, had I stayed." Tears threatened to escape. "He would have killed me one way or another."_

_"Your destiny is to die, one way or another." It mocked._

_"I will never die by his hand." I screamed, punching through my very own mind._

"I will never let him kill me! He can't hurt me anymore" I awoke to Kakashi running into the room, silencing my screams.

I shook staring at my teammates. "Haru-chan.."

"It was a nightmare." I gave them an apologetic smile. "Please, let me heal my wounds and we will be on our way."

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><p><strong>I guess I'll stop It here.<strong>

**I'm not exactly proud of it.  
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**Songs listened to: Waltz for ZiZi, I'll Make A Man Out Of You, I Can Go The Distance, Spokey Dokey, Secrets. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: I do not own Naruto.**

**If you have any questions about my character or this plot, please contact me through PM.**

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><p>Naruto and I stood in a fighting stance, until a voice stopped us all in our tracks.<p>

"You're an embarrassment to our village. Can you even remember the reason why we came to this village?"

The man in the war paint went paler than a ghost, "Look! They started it! They challenged us first!"

"Shut up." The red head demanded. "I apologize for any trouble they may have caused."

He dispersed into sand before appearing before us again. "Let's go."

"Yes, Gaara, of course." Before they could walk away I quickly stopped them.

"Hold up!" They turned around, but I kept my eyes on the blonde. "You're from Sunagakure , but no shinobi can enter another village with out permission. I'm sorry but I must ask what you are doing here."

The blonde smirked, "You've all been living under a rock, haven't you? We have permission." She flashed us her papers, and I nodded. "We're here for the chunin exams."

"What's the chunin exams, Haru-chan?" Naruto asked.

"We do not live under a rock, yet I did not know they would come up so quickly. Uzumaki-san-" Konohamaru cut me off before I could finish.

"It's what a genin has to take to become a chunin, duh!" As they slowly started to bicker again, I cursed my luck.

Sasuke quickly jumped in front of me , "You...who are you?"

"Me?" The blonde batted her eye lashes.

"No. The one with the gourd on his back." His lip twitched, and I knew he was annoyed.

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara. Who are you?" At this I stood wide eyed, and it confirmed my fears. He was the boy I had played ball with all those years ago. Had he really turned so evil?

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha," A breeze went by, making my whole body break out into shivers.

They stared at one another for a moment longer before Naruto yelled "I bet you're dying to know my name as well!"

"I honestly couldn't care less." Gaara turned on his heel and finally walked away.

"Hey, am I uncool?" Naruto poked my side, but Konohamaru once again interrupted me.

"Eh, compared to Sasuke, yeah!"

"Don't you even try to show me up!" Naruto made a fist towards the Uchiha.

"Back off dobe." He threatened.

"I swear if you start to fight, in the middle of this peaceful day, I will break your bones from the inside out." My voice had a dark edge to it, making both boys cross their arms and grunt. "Now, let's get to the bridge."

As we walked, Naruto poked Sasuke "Do you really think she could do that?"

"Do what, dobe?" He clearly was thinking about Gaara, and I silently agreed that I had a bad feeling about him too.

"Could Haru-chan really break our bones from the inside out?" His yell of fear even made Kakashi wonder what had happened as we met up with him.

"Hatake-sensei, please let them know with precise medical-nin training I could tear the muscle from the bone without leaving an exterior mark." I gave him a big cheesy smile.

"You do have an eye for that sort of thing!" He agreed, and we laughed at Naruto's expression of pain. Sasuke on the other hand grunted and threw Kakashi a look of annoyance.

"What's the mission for today, sensei?" He asked.

"I recommended you all for the chunin exams. These are the application forms." He handed us the applications.

"Application forms?" I repeated.

"You're repeating me, Haru-chan. If you don't feel ready, you can wait until next year. This is all voluntary." He said, already knowing our answers.

Naruto yelled in excitement and tackled our sensei into a bear hug. "You're the absolute best sensei!"

"Naruto, you're slobbering on my vest." Pushing the shinobi off of himself, Kakashi continued "Go to room 301 at the academy if your application is signed and ready. It'll be at 3pm five days from now."

"I bet there are really strong people going to the chunin exams!" Naruto said, as we walked around the village.

I stared at their backs, suddenly feeling very unsure. My IQ rivaled Shikamaru's, yet when it comes to taijutsu, I'm even worse than Naruto. I started to feel helpless. How could I keep up with my teammates?

"Why are you walking with me, Uchiha-san?" I asked, feeling slightly odd.

"I wanted to talk with you. You shouldn't even attempt the chunin exams. You'll die." His voice was different, it wasn't Sasuke.

"I understand that you care, Uchiha-san, but I'll be just fine." Right then, a man appeared taunting us.

"You'll die!" Sasuke threatened.

"It's a genjutsu. This whole stupid thing is." I released it, and saw through the illusion.

"You're Kakashi's student, but you'll have a lot harder time in the chunin exams!" He disappeared and I began to walk away. Maybe I could catch up with the boys for a quick dinner before we went to the exams.

"It's going to be hard." I muttered, sighing.

The Next Day:

"You're late, Haru-chan!" Naruto stated.

"I'm sorry..Naruto..-kun.. Sasuke-kun.." I had trouble using their first names, feeling it was a big step of trust.

"Yeah." Sasuke stared at me for a moment, calculating. "Let's go."

4 Minutes later:

"Sasuke-kun, it's a genjutsu. We're only arriving on the second floor." Not even on the third step of the first floor.

"Good work, Haru-chan." was all he said.

We watched silently as a boy in a green jumpsuit was being pushed around. As well as his teammate.

"Hey, Let us through." Sasuke demanded. "We have to get to the third floor."

"Eh, so you saw through our genjutsu." The man with spiky hair said.

"Tell 'em Haru-chan. You could see it from a mile away. You do have the sharpest eyes and best analytical skills on our team." Sasuke gave me a reassuring nod.

"It was easy to spot, you didn't put much effort into it at all. Just changing numbers around? How original." I shrugged my shoulders giving them a smile.

"Well aren't we smart? Lets see you deal with this!" As him and Sasuke got ready to fight, the boy from earlier stopped them mid kick.

He was faster than Sasuke, and Sasuke looked purely annoyed.

"Hey! I thought we were going to stick to the plan of keeping our skill levels to ourselves." A pale eyed boy hissed. He had the Byakugan , I noted.

"Never mind, it's over with. Let's not worry about it." The female teammate sighed, shaking her head.

I noticed the boy staring at me oddly. "I'm Rock Lee, Haru! Will you please be my girlfriend? I promise to always protect you with my life!"

I reeled backwards. "I'm sorry, but no."

"Why not?" He looked beyond defeated and I felt bad.

"I..I don't know you all that well, my apologies, Lee-san" I tried to smile but he quickly turned around and leaned against the wall. Naruto leaned there later after a few words were passed between Sasuke and the Byakugan user.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun!" I grabbed their hands and pulled them away. As soon as we were out of ear shot, "Sasuke-kun, be careful of those two. I'm not sure about the female, but they all seem above average."

He nodded, "Yeah. This is freak show, not some big bad chunin exam."

I giggled, and Naruto laughed at his joke as well.

I sensed Rock Lee as he stood above us on the third floor.

"What are you doing here?" We asked

"I want to fight!" he jumped down. "I'm Rock Lee. As you said Sasuke Uchiha, it is only common courtesy to give your name first before fighting an opponent. I challenge you!"

"Eh," Sasuke stood in amusement, watching the boy take a fighting stance. I took one as well.

"Sasuke-kun, you can leave him to me." I offered, lightning flaring around my palms

"You're our medic and annalist. You need to stay back, Haru-chan." The Sharingan user advised. I stood back, telling him he was right.

"I've heard great things about the Uchiha-clan! Are you as great as they say you are? You'll be a good test for me." He took a different fighting stance.

We glared at him, how dare he say that! "Also. Haru-chan. I love you."

I put my hands up in defeat, "no, uhm. Again, Lee-san, I'm sorry! I don't like you."

Somehow little hearts flew towards me, but I easily dodged, and side stepped behind Sasuke. "Look, I'm sorry, Lee-san! I do not like you."

"You don't have to be negative!" He pouted.

"You know I'm a Uchiha, yet you challenge me? You'll learn the hard way with who you are dealing with." I grabbed Sasuke's shoulder tightly.

"Sasuke-kun, Don't." He shrugged me off, Yet Naruto already cracked his knuckles.

"I've got him first, Sasuke." Sasuke nodded.

"I'm sorry, I only want to challenge Uchiha." Lee declined.

Yet Naruto ran towards Lee with an intent to kill. With a flick of Lee's wrist, Naruto was smashing to the floor. "Naruto-kun!" He bounced back up, trying to kick him, yet was knocked off balance, and he smashed his head into the floor.

"Sasuke-kun. We don't have time for this! Same goes for you, Naruto-kun!" I scolded. Yet Naruto was already knocked out.

"Don't worry Haru-chan. This will be over in less than a minute." Sasuke boasted.

My eye twitched, did these stupid boys not listen to a single thing I say? Closing my eyes and counting to ten, I only heard Sasuke hit the floor.

"Told ya so," I mumbled. Don't be an idiot and reveal your Sharingan, I thought.

Yet he did, and I was actually impressed. "Sasuke." Just what you'd expect from an Uchiha. Getting stronger every day.

Yet he was kicked in the jaw, being sent flying upwards.

"I don't use genjutsu, or ninjutsu. Only taijutsu." Lee explained, beating the crap out of Sasuke. "You're too slow to read my movements."

Now he was trying to piss the Uchiha member off. With all of his taunts and blocking every attack, Sasuke growled.

With another kick, he sent my teammate flying, and before he could finish his attack, we were all stopped.

"That's ENOUGH!" A giant red turtle yelled. I stared in shock. A giant red turtle yelled at us. "Leave each other alone."

Before Sasuke fell, I quickly slid to catch him in my lap. "Sasuke, you teme! Are you okay, you big idiot?"

Lee kneeled before the turtle, talking and apologizing.

"Is that a turtle, that bushy brows is talking to?" Naruto asked, pointing.

"Yes, obviously, Naruto-kun." I answered, giving him a glare.

"A shinobi NEVER reveals his techniques unless it is absolutely necessary! You think apologizing will get you off of the hook?" The turtle scolded far worse than I did. "Come out, Gai-sensei!"

Team 7 and I reeled backwards, screaming in shock and fear as a man who looked exactly like Lee appeared.

"Holy mother of god!" I yelled grabbing onto Sasuke.

"His eyebrows are huge!" Naruto yelled, holding onto me.

"What's going on, e'rybody?" He flashed us a smile.

"Do not insult Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled, jumping to his sensei's defense.

"Excuse me for not noticing his greatness! I was far to busy watching him crawl out from under a turtle!" Naruto defended right back.

Before Lee could say another word, Gai shushed him. "Now for your punishment!" He hit Lee square in the cheek, calling him an idiot.

They began to cry as he apologized to his own student.

"What in the world is going on here?" I asked my team, knowing not even they would have the answer.

"It's kinda sweet, how affectionate they are." Naruto observed.

"You're crazy." Sasuke and I said in unison.

"He's looking at us." I gasped, once again slightly side stepping behind Sasuke.

"How is Kakashi-sensei?" Gai asked,

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, and he immediately regretted it.

"He and I..." He paused for dramatic effect, "Are arch rivals for all of eternity." Flashing another smile that could blind, Naruto and I protested instantly.

He appeared behind us. "Our record is 50 wins and 49 losses, and I'm winning by one. Just to let you know." I gasped in shock at how fast he was.

He mentioned to be faster and stronger than Kakashi, yet I didn't believe that, and neither did Sasuke or Naruto. After Gai left, Lee mentioned that there was a stronger genin than him. It was the Byakugan user, I had warned Sasuke about.

He left as well, and I scolded Naruto for trying to rile up Sasuke, and we finally went on our way.

"These Chunin exams are just beginning to get interesting! Let's get started, Haru-chan! Naruto!" His leadership gave us confidence and we quickly left to register for the exams.

Kakashi stood in front of us, leaning against the double doors we had to walk through to finally register.

"Haru-chan, I'm glad you came." I stared at our sensei in confusion. "Now you can all register officially for the chunin exams."

"Why was it important that I came?" Voicing my teammates thoughts.

"You can only participate in three man teams, if you had not shown up, Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't have been able to register." He explained.

"I thought you said it was up to the individual."

"It is, but I wanted you to know you had a choice. I didn't want Naruto or Sasuke pressuring you to join. You are ready to tend to them without a second thought, you needed to think for yourself. I'm glad you had thought well enough for youreslf." Kakashi said, "I'm proud of all three of you."

He made room for us to go in, and we gladly did so.

As soon as we made it into the room, we realized exactly what we were in for.

"I didn't think there would be so much competition." I thought aloud. Yet my thinking was cut off as I heard a high pitched voice giggle.

Looking over, I watched as Ino jumped on Sasuke's back. "Oh, Sasuke-kun! I knew you'd be here!"

Unlike the rest of the female population, I held no attraction towards my teammate. Sure he had looks and talents, but I vowed that I wouldn't be that type of girl. Not like how I used to be in my previous life. "Eh, Yamanaka-san, you should remove yourself from my teammate."

"What are you gonna do it about it?" She threatened, and our death glares locked.

"How troublesome. It's you guys." Shikamaru and I had actually been friends for awhile but we stopped talking after we became genin.

"Thanks, Shikamaru-san." I mocked. "Nice to see you as well."

"looks like the three hoodlums are here!" Naruto joked.

"You're a waste of time pipsqueak." Shikamaru retorted shoving his hands into his pockets.

Team 8 walked our ways as well. "Well, looks like the whole gang is here."

"You guys too?" Shikamaru said, looking annoyed "Guess everyone's here for this stupid thing."

"Look at us, the 9 rookies." Kiba laughed. "It's gonna be fun, at least for those of us who can make it, right Sasuke?"

"Don't get to over confident, Kiba." Sasuke warned,

"We'll blow you guys outta the water, just wait 'n see." Before things broke out into a fight, a silver haired boy walked up to us.

As a medic-nin, I knew he was one as well. Our eyes were trained to see such things. "Hey! You guys, wanna keep it down? No offense or anything, but you are the nine rookies."

"Who ask you, eh?" Ino hissed, "Who are you?"

"My name is Kabuto Yakishi. You've already made quite an impression." I never took my eyes off of him, an unsettling feeling stuck in my stomach.

Sasuke looked over just in time to see my glare manifest before I looked away as well.

"This exam makes everyone tense, so you shouldn't upset them." Kabuto suggested.

"Kabuto, right?" The tone in my voice made everyone look back at us. They knew I was not one to mess with, and when I was angry even for the brief times we had talked.

"Yes?" He gave me a polite smile.

"This is your first time here," I said, making sure my chakra flared slightly.

"You're right! It's actually my seventh time!" He gave us a sheepish smile, but it annoyed me even more than Ino.

"Then you should be an expert at this." Giving him a forced smile I stepped closer to him.

"Some expert." Shikamaru clicked his tongue.

"Seventh time is the charm! Yet, I can give you guys some tips with my shinobi info cards." He took out orange cards from his back pouch.

"Shinobi info cards?" Was the guy for real?

"So you think we can't live up to the challenge?" I asked, my jaw locking.

"Eh, Haru-chan, you don't have to get mean with him. He's just trying to help." Naruto smiled, putting his hand on my shoulder, partly to hold me back.

"Just because we're rookies doesn't mean we were born yesterday." I hissed, my fists clenched. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm just tense." Lying was easy.

"It's alright. Yet these shinobi cards have been infused with my chakra over how much I have learned the last four years." He kneeled down and placed the cards on the ground. He explained to us what the chunin exams were, even though when i was 6 i had read all about them. I forgot they had been coming up so quickly. It made sense Gaara wouldn't have been wounded, he had his sand to protect him. Rock Lee was a taijutsu fighter, and Neji and Hinata were cousins. I saw her proud look as his name was mentioned, and it struck my slightly.

Lost in thought, I only heard "The competition is going to be intense." From Kabuto.

We sat in our respective seats as Ibiki explained our first test. I sat two rows behind Naruto, and I realized he wasn't going to be able to answer any of these questions.

I sped through the questions, using experiences from my past life and this one. I stopped not even halfway through the test, finished. Putting my paper face down, I observed Naruto. If there was a way I could give him my answers I would, but it wasn't possible.

Sighing, I felt a jolt in the back of my head. Someone was in my soul, but before they could take over I quickly thought of every bad thing I could think of to knock them off track.

_"You're worthless. You're pathetic. How are you still alive?" The voice circled, and the person in my mind reeled back._

_"Please leave my mind, or you'll die."_

Yet I still looked over my answers a second time before they left. I looked back and saw Ino raise her head, blinking in confusion. I smirked, and mouthed "stay out of my mind." Her eyes went wide and I crossed my arms over the desk.

I had about 15 minutes before Ibiki would tell us the tenth question, I could nap for that time. I was awoken not even five minutes later with a kunai landing in front of the person sitting beside me. I shot him a glare, as if saying 'you woke me up from a peaceful nap, stay a genin for all I care.'

As Ibiki told us the last question, I stared in shock. Get this wrong or get this right, we're doomed.

Naruto slowly raised his hand before slamming it back down on the table again.

"You guys wont scare me off! I don't care if I stay a genin forever! I will still become the Hokage, you better believe it!" He grunted and sat back down.

Way to go Naruto-kun, I smiled proudly.

"You can change your life forever with this decision, this is your last chance to quite." Ibiki said.

"I never go back on my is the way of the ninja. I wont let my team down, and I will never quit!" Naruto's confidence made my heart leap for joy, and I knew he had made Sasuke proud as well.

"You pass." Ibiki's voice made us jump slightly. "Your decision to say was the answer to question 10!"

I cocked my head to the side as he began to laugh and I briefly wondered how Kakashi passed these exams. "My objective was to test you as one but also as a team. I wanted to see how well you function as both and how you benefit your team. The final question gave you two choices. It was a no win situation. When on a mission, and many missions may seem suicidal, you think only of the goal. Be courageous and disciplined enough to achieve this goal. These are the qualities of a chunin squad leader. To make life altering decisions, to gather information and to complete the mission."

Ibiki wished us good luck and passed us after his speech.

A ball flew through the window, but attaching the cloth to kunai and the ceiling. "I'm Anko and I'll be your next proctor! Y'all ready? Let's go!"

Ibiki stepped beside Anko, "You're early, again." She blushed in embarrassment.

"You're goin' soft, Ibiki. Alright, listen up! Tomorrow morning you're mine. I'll tell your sensei's where to meet me, and we'll begin the second phase of the chunin exams."

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: <strong>

**Chunin Exams Arc! Woo!**

**The Forest of Death will be done in two chapters (_probably_)**

**Then the Preliminary Rounds will be done in two as well.**

**The Month before the Final round will be one chapter,  
><strong>

**And then you know what comes after that.**

**Each Arc will have about 2-6 chapters.**

**I will also be doing side stories for missions and breaks. (: (Only if you "The Reader" Wants this to happen)  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

_"Sasuke-kun!" I screamed, as I watched the snake-man bite into his neck._ I shook my head in horror at the memory, and made sure the traps were intact around our small camp. I healed my team-mates major wounds carefully, and sighed.

That Orochimaru guy wanted Sasuke, and I wasn't strong enough to deal with a man with so much power behind him. Neither were Naruto or Sasuke. I healed my own wounds, and got ready for a fight as I sensed three other Genin, and three Oto-nin appeared before us.

The Oto-nin had easily avoided my traps, and smiled, "Eh, would you look at that. A pretty little birdy protecting her pretty little nest."

I glared at the girl, "At least I can be called pretty."

She bite her tongue while the other Oto-nin twitched slightly. "Wake that pathetic boy up. We want to fight him."

"Over my dead body." I hissed, cracking my knuckles. "Who are you, and what do you really want? I know that creep Orochimaru is behind all of this."

Their surprised looks made me smile. They worked with sound, so if I kept my ears covered it'd be quite a drawback, but it could work. I didn't need all of my five senses to fight. Yet I trashed that idea, a drawback would create a lot of unnecessary hassle.

"Are you really going to talk to us like that? First, I'm going to kill the pretty little blonde and then I'll kill precious little Sasuke." Zaku, the tallest Oto-nin chuckled maliciously.

I cut the string that held the explosive trap above, but they blew threw it.. Just as they were about to reach me, Rock Lee appeared out of nowhere. He slid, and with great precision and force, had kicked upwards and knocked them all back.

"Looks like you need to make more of an effort than that." He smiled, "Are you alright, Haru-chan?"

"Lee-san, I'm fine. Please, I can take care of them." I defended.

"You have to take care of your teammates, don't worry about me! There are more pressing problems right now then looking over my shoulder." He took a fighting stance, ready to defend me and my team.

I let my chakra become visible as lightning gathered around my palms. "They'll be fine, for now."

We nodded to one another, but Lee pushed me back, and began to fight on his own. "I'm sorry, Haru-chan!"

Lee used his Lotus Fist technique, a speedy barrage of punches, but it didn't work in time. Zaku softened the ground with his air pressure and Lee sunk down, unable to move and wracked with pain.

I stared up at Kin, the woman of the group, as she held me up by my short hair. "You are always being protected. You're such a weakling. Oh, some lightning in your hands, what a big deal." She shook my head, causing tears of stinging pain to fall from my eyes. "You know what would be fun, Zaku?"

"What would that be, Kin?" He asked, his smile sweet with the worst intent.

"Having a pretty bird watch her pretty Sasuke-kun die!" Her grip tightened, and I sent electrical currents throughout my entire body. I had all but fried my whole body and organs.

She was sent flying backwards by the force of my electricity. "How dare you!" I screamed, pulling the kunai out of my leg, throwing it her way. "You are a piece of trash. Calling my team weak! You know absolutely nothing of my team, of my friends. They are my brothers! I will not stand here and let you even think you can get away with such-" I was cut off, as I fell to my knees coughing up blood. I had one kunai in my arm and in my stomach; my system was still in shock from the sudden burst of Chakra.

I got back up, just in time to bite down on Zaku, who was standing before me. Blow after blow to my head, I finally let go of his arm, and he threw me to the ground. "Say goodbye you little punk."

I blinked, waiting for the end. Suddenly, there stood Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. Ino bluntly remarked, "I can't let Sasuke think you're better than me.."

"Ino-san..." I coughed more, "Protect Naruto-kun...Sasuke-kun.."

"What is this?" Zaku yelled, annoyed at the sight of my backup."Better a live sheep than a dead lion, fatty," he addressed Choji. He told us it was useless to fight back.

We watched as Choji's whole demeanor changed in less than an instant.

"Wanna run that by me again?" His voice rose, threateningly tense.

"Fatty, you should've listened the first time!" In that moment, Choji rushed at him with incredible speed, but I felt something stir beside me.. Neji and his team appeared, coming to the rescue of Lee as well.

"Haru…" I looked to see Sasuke, sitting up and covered in his curse seal marks.

"Sasuke-kun, we can handle this, please lay back down." I protested, but I coughed up more blood and stayed on my hands and knees.

"Who…hurt you, Haru-chan?" His tone sacred me and I couldn't even respond.

"Eh, I hurt the pathetic little blonde, what of it?" Zaku boasted. I knew this wouldn't end well, and I watched as Sasuke somehow stood up, and prepared to go on a rampage despite his injuries. He shot straight for Zaku, his footsteps tearing the ground apart as he proceeded to deliver a flat-out gut punch to his stomach. Zaku gasped in sudden pain. Using the same hand, he shot it straight at Zaku's chin without giving him time to blink. As Zaku was lifting off into the air, Sasuke grabbed his shirt and pulled him face-first back into the ground. He then grabbed both of Zaku's arms while he was still face down and began to pull. I saw that he planned to rip Zaku's arms off, and all the while Zaku screamed endlessly. As he tore the muscle on Zaku's arms, I willed myself to stop him. "Sasuke!"

I hugged him tightly, tears flowing down my face. "That's enough, Sasuke-kun. Please, let it go."

The other teams left as Naruto woke up, asking what had happened and who had hurt me. "Naruto, I need you," I breathed heavily. "To get water. Please, and hurry."

As he did so, I drank in small amounts, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts as he tended my wounds. After a long while, we all just stood silent. It was our first taste of just how brutal and cold the world could be for ninja. We had tasted near complete defeat, and if it wasn't for the other Nin from Konohagakure, we'd be dead as dirt. There is no one to help us but each other, and when we all grow up to fend for ourselves, they won't be there to play hero. The thoughts in my head raced and danced like blood. They ached to be put to rest.

Naruto was the first of us to speak.

"What happened while we were unconscious?"

"I realized something while you both were out. I can't have either of you protecting me anymore." I started, lying down. "Our team only works if we are all equally strong. We're a family now," My vision began to blur; "You're my brothers. You need me just as much as I need you. That's what happened, Naruto-kun."

"Haru-chan..You…you really think so?" Naruto spoke differently than he usually did; his voice had grown soft.

A couple days Later:

Thanks to Kabuto, we obtained a heaven scroll and finished the forest of Death a few days later.

I still had bruises, but my teammates were healed completely. I made sure nothing went wrong with them and that I had enough chakra to keep them unscathed.

I limped into the bathroom, cleaning and finally healing all of my wounds. I joined the rest of my team a few minutes later, and Kakashi congratulated us.

Pulling Kakashi aside I asked, "Should we tell someone about Sasuke-kun?"

"It wont be necessary. I can deal with it; don't worry about him, Haru-chan.." He gave me a reassuring pat, and I put my trust in the older shinobi. I turned back to see Kakashi was, in fact, warning Sasuke about the dangers or his curse.

Immediately after we had passed in the scrolls, we were required to participate in the Chunin Exams. No break, no rest. The catch behind them? We had to fight each other based on a raffle. The Chunin Exams are probably more deadly than the forest, I thought. We're fighting our friends at the very last ropes of our energy, and none of us can afford to fail. Basically, we are all going to have to fight with whatever it takes to win.

Sasuke stood in front of Yoroi, ready to fight. All he ever wanted to do was prove himself; be the best of the best. I stood close to Kakashi, "I'm worried about him, sensei."

"I told you not to worry, Haru-chan." He mused.

"After we fought the Oto-nin…" I trailed off for a moment, "I came to realize how close you three are to me. You're my family, Kakashi-sensei, and I need to get stronger. My main goal is to make you proud,"

He laughed, resting his hand on top of my head. "You have made me proud. Strive to become a Chunin."

"Will you train me, one on one? Not just with the team?" I asked, staring up in hope. "Of course, Haru-chan. I'm sure we could learn a few new tricks. We do both share the affinity for lightning." I could tell he was smiling and I beamed up at him. "Now, let's cheer for Sasuke!"

"Right!" We watched as Sasuke was pushed farther into the floor, his chakra being drained. He fought his way out of it, but I tensed up.

I should be down there, healing my team! I leaned forward, but Kakashi kept his hand on my head. "Don't think about it."

"He…" I bit my lip.

"Hey Sasuke! You call yourself an Uchiha? Get it together!" Naruto yelled, encouraging Sasuke. I watched as the curse seal try to take over, and I grabbed onto Kakashi's arm in fear.

Yet he threw down Yoroi, using his foot to drive the man into the floor. "Haru-chan.. .Nails." Kakashi warned gently.

"Sorry!" I released my grip. Before I knew it, the match was over."Sasuke-kun! You did it!" Naruto and I cheered.

Kakashi appeared before he fell back, and took him away.

We watched Zaku and Shino, and I cringed when I saw Zaku start to fight with both hands. My eye twitched as we learned that Shino's bugs were inside of Zaku's arms.

The next fight was Kankuro, and I briefly wondered if Gaara had ever mentioned me to him. His puppet mastery skills were great, and I admired him for that.

"Ino Yamanaka Vs Haruishi Hara."

"Haru-chan, this isn't a time for laughing." Kakashi placed his hand on my shoulder and I read the screen.

My eyes locked with Gaara as realization hit him. The shinobi then proceeded to bury me six feet under with his eyes and I looked away in annoyance.

Jumping to the floor, I shook my joints and got ready for the fight.

"I thought I'd be fighting someone stronger," Ino shrugged. "This will be too easy."

"Sorry Ino-san, don't under-estimate me." I smiled.

"You two may begin." The proctor said, coughing up a lung.

With increasing speed and instinct, we both jumped back from each other. I dashed behind her, spinning into a kick heading straight for her spine. Her reflexes kicked in, and she flew back into the air, dodging my kick. I quickly appeared above her. My leg came crashing down, but she moved out of the way again. I landed, did a back flip, and landed a good twenty feet away from the Kunoichi.

Her eyes narrowed. "At least my looks match my strength."

"You haven't been able to land a hit, Ino-san." I observed. "Looking good and fighting are two completely different things. You shouldn't need to balance them out. You take more time in your hair than your training."

"Don't you dare mock me!" She shouted, her anger rising. She balled her fists."I'll show you!"

I stood back as she cut her pony tail with her Kunai and threw it out in front of her. "That…does what exactly?" I asked. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

She began to fume with frustration, and started the hand-seals for a Jutsu. I quickly stepped in to interrupt her hand signs, but just as I was about to attack, I couldn't move. I was stuck! "Eh?" I looked at the ground, and her hair had wrapped its way around my leg.

"I put chakra into my hair so you would be trapped," She laughed.

How could I be so stupid? This is her signature technique, I screamed mentally. I knew exactly what was coming. Ino slowly drew a smirk across her face. "Mind Body Switch Jutsu!"

Suddenly, where all my thoughts should've been, there was Ino. This was her ability. She had near complete control over my thoughts and actions. She once told me that the move was supposed to be used for reconnaissance, but now I see just how deadly it could be. If she was in a good mood, she might just force me to raise my hand in forfeit. Or, she could have me stab both of my legs before having me throw the match.

"Get the hell out of my mind!" I screamed, trapped.

"I like it in here, even if it is cramped." Ino retorted, attempting to take full control of my body.

"I swear to the Gods above, Ino. I will rip you apart. I will tear your soul in half, get out of my body!" I broke free from her, regaining my will before she could have me withdrawn from the match.

I felt her scream in pain in my own body, and I screamed along as well. I stood up as she looked at me, slightly fearful and shocked that her hold was broken.

"You better hope there's a place to run to, Ino." My voice was low, but loud enough for her to hear it. She stood her ground, and I began to conjure lightning chakra from my hands.

With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I quickly sprinted forward, and slammed my hand into her stomach, my fingernails digging right into her skin. I twisted my hand around, letting the chakra flow into her mid-section."Mystic Lightning Palm Jutsu!"

She fell to the ground, clutching her stomach, and as she crumbled I kept my knee on her chest, my knuckles repeatedly colliding with her temple faster each moment. Grabbing her by the throat, I lifted her up, spun around and threw her against the wall, my jaw still locked in anger.

Before I could get another blow in, I was declared the winner, and Kakashi grabbed my shoulder. "Enough."

"Haruishi will be moved to the next round."

I looked down at my hands, noticing they were burnt black. I had used too much chakra and it had backfired on me, I realized that I was fading fast. Falling backwards into Kakashi, I weakly mumbled, "I feel sick."

Sitting next to Kakashi, I leaned my head against his leg and began to rest my eyes.

"Is she asleep?" Naruto whispered. "Cause I've never seen her that strong before! Or that scary! I mean, what got into her, sensei?"

"She is a very private person when it comes to her thoughts or past. Besides not wanting to be defeated, she didn't like someone breaking into her mind. To her that is the most disrespectful thing you can do." Kakashi explained.

"So when defending herself, she'll get wicked strong…" Naruto understood.

"When defending her teammates, she gets stronger." That was the last thing I heard before I had finally fallen asleep from utter exhaustion.

I opened my eyes to see Naruto half an inch away from me. "Naruto-kun!"

"Eh! It's my turn to fight! I drew Kiba." He smiled.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Good luck, and be safe, Naruto-kun."

He waved and jumped down to fight Kiba Inuzuka. Kakashi helped me stand up, and I wavered and wobbled slightly. "Are you alright?"

"I am, sensei. Just worn out, that's all." We then watched the remaining rounds.


	4. Chapter 4

I stretched my sore muscles and stumbled out of bed. Kakashi was taking the time to personally train Sasuke and I, while Naruto trained under Jiraiya. I ate a light breakfast and headed out to the training grounds.

"Morning, Sasuke-kun." I greeted, and he nodded. Kakashi arrived only a few minutes later. He and I both knew how serious this was for all of us.

"Let's begin with basic chakra control." He said, and we stood in a triangle formation, each of us 5 feet apart from one another. "Focus all of your chakra on a single point. Your hand should do just fine."

I waited for Sasuke to accomplish this as I switched chakra back and forth between my hands. Kakashi noticed and clicked his tongue.

Biting my lip, I closed my eyes again and kept my chakra in my right hand. "Do you feel the chakra in your hand? Make it reach its max potential and release it."

We did as he said, and there was enough energy and air blowing upward to cause me to stumble backwards. Sasuke kept his cool, even though this shocked him as well.

Kakashi explained different chakra methods to use for jutsu, and how to better control our chakra flow.

"Now, without any chakra, we are going to spar, no teams." He explained, and I stared in confusion.

"So we all spar one another?" Sasuke voiced my thoughts in curiosity.

"Yes, no holding back, and no chakra." The silver haired man said, "Begin."

I went after Sasuke first, sweeping my feet under his. His instinct told him to jump back, and with incredible speed. If I ever wanted to be as fast and as strong as him, I would have to push myself this month. With or without Kakashi, I would train myself to the limit.

Our Kunai clashed and Kakashi stood in the middle of us. His foot moved ever so slightly, but I coiled back, knowing he would attack me.

I was right, and I dodged swiftly, but I wasn't quick enough. His fist met my stomach and they had a nice chat as I was sent flying backwards.

I charged straight for Sasuke again after I had regained my balance. Throwing a few kunai at Sasuke to push him back, I grabbed a hold of Kakashi. I ducked behind him as Sasuke made his way towards me. Using Kakashi as a human shield, Sasuke kicked him hard in the chest. Moving out of the way before I could get hit, I threw more shuriken and kunai at my sparring partners.

This went on for another few minutes as Sasuke and I stopped to catch our breath. We kneeled beside one another. I punched his arm weakly and he smirked. "You've gotten a little faster."

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun." I gave him a big smile.

"Not fast enough." Kakashi stood behind us, and I watched as his heel connected with my forearm. I barely had time to dodge! He whipped around again to hit Sasuke, but the Uchiha ducked low to the ground in the nick of time. We jumped away a few feet, and I rolled out of the way as Kakashi's fist came crashing down. It was not even two inches away and I stared at the Jonin wide-eyed. I jumped to my feet again, and nearly got hit by Sasuke who was back on the offensive, now towards me.

We kept turning the tables on each other, yet we all fought against one another. We did this until I couldn't stand anymore. Sasuke fell to one knee, and I tried to catch my breath beside him. Kakashi didn't even break a sweat and I began to admire him even more.

"The Chunin exams will end in one month. We have one month to push you to your limits." Kakashi lectured, "You cannot fall to your knees and beg for a time out."

I gulped as he stared at us. I knew he was talking about me, but he also knew I would never give up anymore. I wanted to become a Chunin, to make my team proud.

"We're done for the day," Sasuke grunted in annoyance and got up.

I struggled slightly, but he stuck his arm out and I grabbed onto his hand. "Thank you,"

He was slightly annoyed that I kept our arms linked, but didn't push me away. He was probably used to girls being all over him. "Let's get some Ramen,"

"Sure, Sasuke-kun." I smiled and we walked towards the famous ramen shop.

We sat down to eat, but our quiet and peaceful meal was interrupted by the number 1 loud Shinobi.

"Aye! Are you two on a date?" Naruto yelled.

Jiraiya sat down on the far end, probably annoyed with Naruto as much as we were. Sasuke and I shook our heads in sync, but Naruto wouldn't believe us (if he ever could).

We all ate, but Sasuke kept his thoughts to himself.

A memory struck me suddenly. "We can't let Sasuke go down a dark path... You know him better than anyone at this point. You were there for him in the forest of death, when Orochimaru gave him the cursed seal of heaven. He needs to know that he can still count on you." Kakashi and I walked in front of the team.

"I know, sensei." I looked up at him. "I'll support him just as much as I'll support Naruto-kun. We're a team, and we only work as a team when we can all support one another."

I stared at my bowl, not feeling the need to eat anymore. "Here, Naruto-kun.."

"Eh! Thank's Haru-chan!" He gave me a big cheesy smile and I nodded.

Slowly getting up, my muscles screamed out at me. Did Sasuke feel this way too? "I'm heading home. I'll see you all tomorrow."

I waved to them and begin to walk towards Ino's Flower Shop. I had to apologize to her, and buy some flowers.

"Hello, Yamanaka-san." I greeted the older blonde haired man.

"You must be Haruishi," He didn't smile.

"I..I came to apologize to Ino-san." I bowed my head low, "It wasn't fair that I.." I trailed off.

"You broke out of our infamous mind switch body technique, and you still had enough chakra to use your own jutsu. There is nothing to apologize for. You are becoming an excellent Kunoichi. Ino may look up to you one day. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to buy some flowers…" I felt silly for stating the obvious. "I usually buy them once a month, and thought today would be good."

"Who do you buy flowers for?" The Yamanaka clan member asked, curious.

"The memorial stone. Kakashi-sensei is usually there in the mornings, and I don't want him to always see the same depressed stone. I like to make sure even those who are gone can still see some color there." I explained, feeling very shy and silly.

He laughed, "Ah! Well then, these will be good for you." He walked around the counter and towards a shelf of bouquets.

The flowers complemented each other, with the purples and yellows. "Viola's right?" My blue eyes scanned them.

"Correct." We walked back over to the counter and he rang up my purchase.

"Uhm.." I held the flowers gently but close. "Will you please tell Ino-san that I would like to get together one day, I would like to know more about flower arrangements."

"Sure thing!" He waved me off and I nearly skipped out the door.

Kakashi wasn't at the memorial stone when I got there, and something felt odd. Putting the flowers down, I went to the training grounds.

He and Sasuke were training, and I heaved a big sigh. Kakashi would focus more on Sasuke this month, I admitted.

I sulked the whole way home, not even greeting Shikamaru when he waved. "Eh, Haru-chan?" I shrugged my shoulders and continued walking.

It was only three when I arrived home, but I decided to take a hot bath and soothe my body. I would be left behind again. Naruto had a San-nin to train him! I sunk deeper into the hot water, holding my breath.

I could do this on my own. Sure, I won't get as far as the boys, but I could do things just as well! I would go to a completely different training ground, and see if I could borrow Naruto's shadow clones. My heart began to speed up with joy. Slipping back under the water, I kept a big grin on my face. This was going to be a good month.

"Naruto-kun!" I waved him and Jirayia down.

They stopped and turned around, and I tackled the orange-clad Shinobi. "Do me a favor?"

"Sure! Haru-chan, I will totally go out with you!" I gave him a confused look, and withdrew my arms.

"No… I wanted to know if you could let me borrow a couple shadow clones." I laughed, "You silly boy."

Jirayia stared at me confused as well. "I thought Kakashi-sensei was training you?"

"Sasuke-kun needs him more than I do. Don't worry Jirayia-senpai! I'm a big girl now, I can train myself…well…" I blushed and gave Naruto a hopeful glance.

"That sounds awesome Haru-chan! I'll totally let you borrow my shadow clones! But...you have to go on one date with me!" He smiled and gave me thumbs up.

"No ramen, and we have a deal." Jirayia laughed at us, and muttered something about his younger days.

"Alright!" He danced around but made two shadow clones. "I'm going on a date with Haruishi Hara! Unbelievable!"

Before I could get even more embarrassed, I left for training ground #4. Kakashi-sensei had said something about not using it today, and I thank the gods above when they weren't anywhere in sight.

"Alright, Haru-chan. what do you want to work on?" The shadow clone asked.

"Taijutsu. I need to get faster and stronger."

We took our respective fighting stances, and I charged. He dodged my first punch, but I brought my other fist up behind him. It hit and sent him back a couple of feet. He flew back, our fists connected, and I swung a butterfly kick to his shoulders. We fought most of the day away, and I finally collapsed onto my knees and his shadow clones left in a puff of smoke.

We did this for the next week, and I consistently go another hour each day, showing how rapidly I was improving. The next week I finally used chakra along side my taijutsu, and within the first few moments, Naruto's shadow clones were defeated. I walked to training ground 3 where my two teammates were.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Haru-chan." Kakashi greeted. I knew he was annoyed, but I shrugged it off.

"I was busy, sensei." I forced a smile, and Sasuke just grunted in annoyance as well.

"We'll start with taijutsu training. Just you two." Kakashi suggested.

I immediately got into my fighting stance, while Sasuke looked even more annoyed. "I've done better without you around, Sasuke."

"Oh, have you now?" He smirked, thinking I was lying.

He blinked and I was already three inches in front of him. My fist collided with his jaw, sending him flying back. I didn't hesitate as we began to fight. Our kunai clashed, and I glared at the Uchiha. The force of our kunai made us jump backwards.

I yelled out as Sasuke grabbed my fist and threw me into the air. As he jumped up to meet me, I grabbed him with my free hand and kicked him in the chest, sending him into a downwards spiral. I ran towards him in a zig-zag fashion to confuse him. I threw a blow to his chest which connected with satisfaction, and we continued our battle.

It was a full hour of fighting before we jumped back a good ways away. "So this is what you've been doing for the last week?"

"Training? Yeah, I think that might be a good word for it." I smiled.

I stared at Kakashi, but he seemed disappointed. I looked away in time to dodge Sasuke's attack, "You shouldn't leave yourself so open."

We exchanged blows and I finally landed a finishing hit on his chest again, knocking him down. We were evenly matched.

"We're done for the day. Come back tomorrow morning, and I'll teach you something new." Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of smoke, and I quickly did the same to get home.

I stood in front of Kakashi, "I want you to know something before Sasuke gets here."

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" My eyes shined with confusion.

"While you have an affinity for lightning release, you'll be able to learn this technique probably ten times faster than Sasuke. You have to tone it down for today." Nodding, I promised Kakashi I would tone it down.

"This is…Chidori." Kakashi held out his arm open-palm, while his other hand was locked on his wrist. Soon, lightning chakra began to swirl and take form inside his palm. It began to travel up and down his arm, almost as if it had a mind of its own. He rushed at a nearby tree with blistering speed, and impaled his arm right in the center of its trunk. When he pulled it out, the tree had a massive hole through it. His arm, on the other hand, had just a few scratches and burns. It was clearly apparent this was a very destructive technique "I'm teaching this to you for one reason only, Haru."

"Why, Kakashi-sensei?"

"To protect the ones closest to you." Kakashi's chakra then dispersed. For the next week, we learned exactly how to use the Chidori and better ways to improve and control it.

I sat in the stands, watching Naruto fight Neji. If all went well, I would be having my battle right after Sasuke and Gaara. Smiling to Ino, we then joked about Naruto and other Shinobi that were there.


	5. Chapter 5

Gaara!" I screamed, "Sasuke-kun, stay back!"

"Get out of the way, Haru-chan!" Sasuke yelled.

"No! I vowed to protect you and Naruto with my life. I swear until I die, that vow will never be broken!" Gaara became furious at my determination.

In a split second, He pinned me to a tree, and I knew he wanted Naruto to fight him. "Just run!" he screamed.

"Fight me!" Gaara hissed, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Let Haru-chan go!" Naruto yelled, trying to get to me. The sand began to suffocate me, and my vision blurred.

_Once again you're here, in this black abyss you call your mind. Want to know what Ino first saw in your mind?_

_I shook my head, but the voice continued._

_Suddenly, I was in a dimly lit cell. I was parched and starving. A man paced back and forth in front of me. My tennis shoes were dirty, as were my sweat pants. I had gone out for a morning jog only one week ago. Yet this man had hit me in the back of the head when no one was around, and kidnapped me.._

_He was a serial killer who killed young women. The only thing I knew was that he had a deep connection to his sister, whom he had lost 6 years ago. Other than that, he was about to kill me._

_"Do you want some music?" The man asked in a soothing voice._

_"Please." I choked out._

_"You aren't like the rest of them, that's why I don't want you to suffer in your death." He muttered, and put on a soft and relaxing tune._

_It was the same tune my mother had sung when I was picked up all those years ago. That's where I had heard it before._

_"We're both dead now."_

_"Are we?" I asked. We now sat in an open meadow, the sky was cloudless._

_"Yeah. I killed you. Hope you don't mind this song. It's the only one we have. Debbie played it all the time." He swayed back and forth._

_"What's this song called?" I looked down to see I was in a simple white gown, and the man sat in a pair of slacks and a white button up shirt._

_"It's called Waltz for some one. I can't remember the last word, never seem to get it right." He chuckled. "How did I die?"_

_"You were shot." I said simply. "The police finally found you."_

_"You made it that far? I could have sworn you died too." His hair was neater than I had last seen him. It was wavy and went to his shoulders._

_"I didn't swallow all the poison you gave me. I never died." We smiled like we were two old friends reuniting for the first time._

_"I got stuck in your mind, when you made that wish to restart your life. I restarted as well." Our chat came to an end as I opened up my eyes."I'll see you on the other side, Haru."_

"Sasuke-kun!" I yelled when I finally opened my eyes. I saw Gaara laying on the ground, almost unconscious as his siblings ran towards him.

"It was Naruto who saved you." He reminded me. Instead of thanking either of them, I walked a few feet away from Gaara. Temari and Konkuro picked up Gaara's body, carried him on their shoulders, and started to walk away.

"Wait, Temari." The blonde and puppeteer looked at me oddly.

"What is it girly?" Kankuro asked, annoyed.

"Tell Gaara, that I don't see any fangs, horns scales or tails, and thank you." I turned my back on them, and ran to my team. I locked them both in a hug and kissed their cheeks, much to their annoyance.

"Eh! Haru-chan!" Sasuke grunted, but didn't protest any further.

Two weeks later, we sat at the Ramen stand. Kakashi sat on the far end and I sat to his right. "Let's celebrate!" I giggled.

"Haru-chan became a Chunin!" Naruto and I high fived while Kakashi laughed.

"This is on you, right Naruto-kun?" Team 7 gave him the puppy dog eyes, save Sasuke. He finally relented and ended up paying.

Before parting our ways , I decided to tag along with Kakashi to the memorial stone. "My first mission as a chunin tomorrow is to help rebuild..."

"Is that so?" Kakashi and I stood at the memorial stone finally.

"Yeah...My…they died." My voice grew soft as I looked down at my toes.

"Who?" But the silver haired man already knew the answer to that question.

"My parents. I guess the sound-nin got to them during the invasion, Oddly enough.. I'm okay." I trailed off for a moment. "I miss them, but I guess it still hasn't set in."

I closed my eyes as the man tapped my forehead protector. "You would have given your life to this village, and not just the village. You would have given your life for the Hokage, and to all of the people in Konoha. That makes you a true Shinobi, Haru-chan. I'm glad you made it to Chunin, you deserve it…I'm proud you, and the rest of Team 7."

We stood in silence for a long while after that, the wind tousling our hair around, and I turned on my heel to leave. "I'll be working in the market district. Come on by later, Kakashi-sensei."

Walking into an empty house, I looked at my newly arrived Chunin flak jacket. Smiling, I picked it up and tried it on. It fit quite well over my white v-neck robe. I zipped it up, and checked it out in the mirror. I didn't look too bad, I thought.

I looked down; I would probably need a new wardrobe soon. My white attire just wouldn't do anymore. Smiling, I held my forehead protector close as I tried to fall asleep.

I awoke earlier than usual, and dressed quickly. I had to meet with Kotetsu in an hour; it'd take about fifteen minutes to actually walk to the market district so I set out.

I arrived, while Kotetsu waved me over. "Hey! A Chunin now, you were the Genin that figured out my genjutsu, eh?"

"It was too easy! You call that a genjutsu?" I joked.

"Yeah, I do! Not to many Genin should have passed, ya lucky girl." We laughed and got to work. "See most of the work is helping various citizens and shop keepers repair. This shouldn't be too hard, should it?"

I helped many old stand keepers raise their markets again, and even went on a small adventure to find a lost cat. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Yenko," The small boy sniffled, he must have only been 5 or 6 years old.

I held up a small tabby cat, "Is this Snuggles?"

"Snuggles!" He yelled and all but ripped the cat from my hands. "Thank you, Kunoichi!"

I watched as he ran off in frantic glee, and felt a familiar chakra presence beside me. "You're a Chunin, yet you still got the time to find cats for little kids? Gimme a break."

"I wasn't that hard, and it was something nice to do." I punched Shikamaru in his arm.

"Troublesome woman." He clicked his tongue and shoved his hands in his pockets. "They sure did make quite a mess, didn't they?"

I agreed, and we began to work together. Somehow Kotestu had sneaked away from the work, and I slightly envied him. "That bastard."

"Huh?" Shikamru looked the way I was pointing, and sighed. "What a drag. Is Kotetsu sleeping already?"

"You may as well be him! You're working so slow, I'm sure slugs could have rebuilt Konoha by now!" I teased poking Shikamru in the side.

"You're not working any faster, Haru." He pursed his lips together.

"At least I saved a cat." I crossed my arms in a huff and mocked his sigh. "Is that so troublesome?"

"Shut up," He looked away and clicked his tongue once more.

We bickered back and forth like this numerous times before our mission was finally over.

"I'm going to go find Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun. I told them I would spend the day with them after I was finished. See you, Shikamaru!" He nodded a goodbye and I left.

**1 Month Later:**

I looked down at my newest attire and smiled. I wore the long Chunin pants, and open-heeled black Shinobi sandles. Under my unzipped flak jacket, I wore a white V-neck sleeveless shirt. Under that I still had the same mesh shirt that traveled half way up my neck, and it now went to my elbows. I no longer kept my hair up in a half pony tail, and now wore my forehead protector as a headband.

"Haruishi, I'm putting you second in command of this mission. Kakashi you are the leader... Make sure Naruto doesn't get into too much trouble." The newest Hokage smiled.

Kakashi and I nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Train bit while you're at it." The Jonin then left after saying "Haru-chan is in charge while I'm gone."

This was my first mission with my whole team as a Chunin, and I felt a wave of nervousness wash over me. "Let's go."

We walked towards the local cinema and bought the tickets for a movie. It was ten minutes before it was over, but Naruto had fallen off of the ceiling and caused a rukus, getting us kicked out of the theatre.

"Again, my apologies!" I said to the manager of the theatre.

We sat outside in the back of the theatre. "He's late again,"

"What else is new?" Sasuke said as I sat beside him.

We both looked over at Naruto as he stared up at the movie poster. "What'd I give to have a girl like that."

I began to laugh, "In your dreams, Naruto" Sasuke finished my thought. "It was just a movie, dope."

"Hey! Wanna fight about it?" Naruto challenged, but Sasuke and I jumped out of the way when we heard a galloping noise. The actress flew over the fence on a white horse, and I stared in disbelief.

"Is that the princess?" I asked Sasuke. Yet a group of horsemen shouting after the actress interrupted him.

"I'll save you, princess!" Naruto yelled, going after the chase.

"Wait, Naruto-kun!" I yelled, but he was already gone. "Sasuke-kun," I looked over and the Uchiha had stopped dead in his tracks. "We worry about the actress later, for now we capture Naruto-kun. Go west and cut him off."

We split up and went after the knuckle head.

We found him tying up the men on the horses while Sasuke hit a man on the neck, causing him to collapse.

"I told you to go after Naruto. Not harm a man!" I lectured Sasuke, but he just shrugged, joining Naruto.

"What are you guys doing?" We looked up to see Kakashi crouched on a nearby roof.

"Killing time," Sasuke said, wiping his hands on his shirt.

I glared at the two boys, "Kakashi left me in charge and you both ignored my orders."

"We'll deal with it later." Kakashi undid all the ropes and helped an older man in a dark green cloak up. "My apologies about this. Team, this is the man who hired us for the mission."

Before Naruto had time to react my knuckles connected with his temple, sending him flying nearly thirty feet. I then apologized as well.

"Naruto, why don't you go get Yukie Fujikaze, and meet us at the set?" Kakashi ordered.

"Sure thing!" He then ran off, and we were surprised he went the right way this time.

"The mission is to protect Yukie Fujikaze while we travel to Land of Snow for her next scene." Our team leader told us.

In my previous life I had never been backstage of anything, so I looked around at everything. "Why the land of snow?" Sasuke asked.

A producer or some one of the sort said "The rainbow glacier is where we want to shoot our next scene. It's a myth, I guess...during the spring, the glacier supposedly turns seven different colors."

Two of the actors stopped by close, joining in on the conversation.

"That's just an old legend, its winter all year round in Land of Snow." Kakashi informed us.

"There's no spring at all?" I wondered aloud.

"Nope," One of the actors said.

"This isn't your first time in Land of Snow, is that right, Kakashi?" The director said, inhaling his pipe.

"That was a very long time ago." Kakashi crossed his arms, but looked over as I began to blush. "I heard the nation is still poor"

The handsome actor that played Sisaruko gave me a bright smile. "Actually, the legend is that the former lord had a thing for gadgets, and spent all of his money on them"

The other actor laughed. "I just hope they have central heating." They made a joke about Yukie.

"Wait, she's not always a diva like this, is she?" I asked.

The three actors stared at another, "Yeah...kind of. She probably doesn't have dreams in her dictionary, such the workaholic."

I stared at them in confusion, and looked over at Sasuke. He just shrugged as the director began to speak. "I don't care about her personal life. If she gives her all when the camera is rolling...that's what I care about."

"Where is Naruto-kun?" I asked, and we set off.

Yukie's manager tried to get the drunken woman out of the bar, but Kakashi had to use his sharingan to calm and knock the actress out.

We stood on the boat watching the actress get ready. Naruto muttered: "I don't think I can deal with this."

"What do you mean, Naruto? You have to deal with her. It's our mission." Kakashi responded, baffled at the usually confident Naruto. The man leaned against the railing, reading his infamous book. I swayed back and forth and grabbed onto the older shinobi.

"I couldn't even read while in a car" I muttered. "How can he do it on a boat?" My stomach lurched as a wave hit the boat.

"What was that?" Kakashi was cut off by Naruto. "Our mission?"

"Why do we need to babysit a spoiled woman?" Sasuke sighed.

"Believe it or not, this is an A-ranked mission." Kakashi stated.

"This is an A-ranked mission! Are you alright, Haru-chan?" Naruto stared up at me and I shook my head.

"What's wrong now?" Sasuke looked at me as I turned several different shades of green. "Oh."

Someone who worked on the set handed me a piece of bread. "It'll help."

I nodded in thanks, and ate tiny pieces. "Go on, Kakashi." Kakashi began again in a soft voice: "Yes. Big celebrities like this are targeted all the time, believe it or not, Sasuke." He looked back at the grumpy Uchiha. "Just be on your guard, we don't know who could be after her."

The sharingan users nodded to one another, and the older one looked down at me as green chakra emitted from my hand and onto my stomach. "Your nails, I think they still have marks from the Chunin exams."

I muttered out an apology and we watched the actress do her scene.

"She's amazing." I observed.

"It's like she's not even the same pampered person she was just 10 minutes ago!" Naruto said in awe. Yet our awe was short lived when she called her manager over for eye drops.

The next day we arrived on a cold and snowy shore. In the beginning of Yukie's next scene, an explosion on top of a nearby mountain distracted us. Kakashi quickly jumped in front of the actors and told everyone to get back on the boat. Three heavily armored assassins leaped down and immediately assaulted us with shurikans and kunai.

As he fought the leader of the trio, Sasuke took one on his own, while Naruto and I protected the bright eyed woman from the last one. She fell to her knees in shock and Naruto was caught off of his guard.

Kakashi yelled out his name, and summoned a water dragon to deflect the enemy shurikans.

The enemy's armor was slightly odd, and I realized it deflected chakra. "Kakashi! Their armor!"

"We know! Protect Yukie at all costs!" Kakashi ordered and I nodded silently.

"The armor increases the chakra within the body, strengthening our jutsu, and it gives us a chakra barrier. Genjutsu and Ninjutsu are useless." The leader chuckled slightly, and I balled my fists.

The bigger man of the trio tried to rope Yukie from afar, but I quickly cut it. Before he could get any closer, Naruto was able to plant a kick right in his stomach, pushing him off track, "Yukie, get to the boat already!" he cried in agitation.

Yet she sat in fear, clutching her chest. What was wrong with the princess? Kakashi yelled for us to get out of the way, and we did so. Faster than I could blink, he picked us all up and we were back on the boat. No matter how much we trained with him; saw him in combat or even just basic sparring, Kakashi-senpai always found ways to surprise us.

Back on the ship, I asked if anyone was hurt. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun... Kakashi?" I looked at them, but they just shook their heads. I smiled softly; they could take a punch now, couldn't they?

A half an hour later, we docked and I pulled my cloak tighter around me. I hated cold weather.

"This was the only way I could think of to get the princess to come home…" Sandayu said

"Really, I mean Come on Sandayu!" Naruto laughed, "She's not really a princess! You don't have to keep calling her that!"

Kakashi drew a blank stare at his genin. "Actually she is."

"Huh?" I looked at him in confusion.

"We're actually protecting Koyuki Kazahana, the heir of Land of Snow." Kakashi said.

"I was her aide when she was just a little girl. It's no wonder she didn't remember me." Sandayu muttered.

"So you're from the Land of Snow as well, Sandayu-san?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I served Koyuki's father. He was the former leader of the Land of Snow." He answered. The snow native then began sharing the story about the princess and the former leader. Sandayu begin crying, saying how glad he was that the princess was alive and that Kakashi and saved her, 10 years ago.

I felt her presence in the doorway as she muttered, "I should have died back then,"

"Don't say such things!" Sandayu pleaded. "You have no idea how much we prayed for your life."

"My heart is dead, even if I am alive." These words angered me and I stood up quickly.

"How pitiful." I snapped. "Woe is me! My heart is crushed. Be a woman, and stop sulking you ignorant brat. You still have people who care about you, who love you and risk their lives to protect you. You had a clan pray for your safety…for your life! Yet you stand there as if it means nothing.. What a joke."

"Haru-chan!" Naruto warned, but the princess glared.

"What do you know about it?" She huffed. "You're just a little girl."

My jaw locked in anger as the little voice came back. You can't let anyone know about your previous life. "I know more about pain and suffering than you think." I left the room, still upset.

"Should I go after her, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked and then looked at Sasuke, who just shook his head.

"No, I'll go." He then followed me out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Kakashi asked, crossing his arms.

"I...I can't tell you. I'm sorry." I bowed my head, "I will never let my emotions come before a mission again."

"It's not that.. You've seemed a little…different this past month." He stated.

I couldn't tell him that the man who had tried to kill me in my previous life had gotten trapped inside of my mind and soul after I had made the wish to restart my life. "I wish I could tell you."

We walked back into the room to hear the princess yell "You will never get rid of Doto, okay?"

Naruto slammed his hand down on the table, "So he should just give up? Quit being so heartless! No wonder Haru-chan snapped at you! You keep insulting this man, and you keep trying to crush his dreams! Do you realize what he has gone through? You'll have to answer to me!"

"As long as is there is hope there are dreams. With those dreams, comes the future..." The director sat with his arms crossed, "I like it! That is the theme for our new Princess Gale movie!"

I stared at Kakashi in confusion, as if asking if the director was actually serious. "The only way we can get through this…is to fight. We can't even start thinking about running."

His words gave me joy again, and I smiled as Naruto got pumped as well.

"No! There is no such thing as a happy ending in this world!" Koyuki defended.

"Of course there is!" The Director challenged right back, "If you're willing to fight for it!"

This caught her off guard. "Normally in this situation I would go back to the village for some help, but…" the Jonin let Sasuke finish the sentence.

"It's a waste of time. We're capable enough. It's nothing we can't handle." The onyx eyed boy stated bluntly. He looked over at me, and I nodded. We could do this easily. We had a Jonin, a Chunin, and two genin. What could possibly go wrong?

Sandayu thanked us as the director made his final decision.

"Our hideout isn't far from here. I's just beyond this cave." Sandayu explained to Kakashi and me. Besides being appointed as the team's medical-nin, I was also appointed annalist. "My people can rest easier knowing their princess is back and safely protected."

A few moments later, we heard the news of the princess vanishing once again.. Kakashi ordered us to spread out and look for her. "If you find her, radio us immediately."

I set a ball of explosives down the mountain side, causing a small avalanche as Sasuke protected Sandayu. Kakashi blew the bridge out, but the train kept going.

Sandayu weakly asked for his princess, "Forgive me…I shouldn't have ever gotten you involved in this. We knew you were alive... we kept our hopes high. You have always been as I believed, so you must believe in yourself. You…you have always been our purest hope." With his last breath, I clung onto Naruto, tears threatening to escape my own eyes.

"Lets go home already." Koyuki said, walking away.

"Go home...to where exactly?" Naruto said threw clenched teeth. "I thought this was your home! What the hell do you need to go back to? Your place is here, in the Land of Snow! Now face Doto!"

"Our tears have frozen over by the cold; Spring doesn't come to this country." She kept her back to us as she talked.

"You have the power to change that. At least that's what Sandayu believed." I informed her of the dead man's wish.

"I'm done with this!" She began to walk away, and I glared at such a coward..

Before another fight broke out between Naruto and Koyuki, we watched as a blimp made its way into our sights. I jumped back to stand by Kakashi as we both assessed the situation.

In a flash, the woman was captured and the men threw Kunai at us. Noticing blue spheres tied to them I shouted for Kakashi to move.

We all dodged, "Haru-chan! Where's Naruto?"

"He's...He went to save the princess!" I locked my jaw in annoyance. We followed the blimp while remaining undetected, and eventually arrived at the fortress where the princess was being kept.

We made a diversion of explosives and quickly sneaked into the fortress. "Haru-chan, stay with Sasuke, find Naruto." We did a quick nod of agreement and took off.

We met up with the team, "This place is crawling with guards!"

"Haru-chan! Sasuke!" Naruto gave us a big smile and I quickly embraced him.

"Are you alright, Naruto-kun? What's that?" I pointed to the weird device on his stomach.

"No time!" Kakashi said, and we began to follow the princess.

We finally met Doto in the throne room, and I stood my ground. The evil man laughed.

"Doto!" Kakashi muttered.

"Well done, Koyuki!" Doto smiled eagerly. She then ran towards him, even though Kakashi tried to stop her.

"Wait!" He yelled, "It can't be…"

"This shouldn't be a surprise.. I am an actress!" She smiled smugly.

"And there you have it, another brilliant performance! By none other than Yukie Fujikaze!" The larger man's laugh sent chills down my spine.

"All...an act!" The dark haired woman turned around and stabbed Doto in the stomach, yet he grabbed her by the neck, strangling her.

Before Naruto could run towards the falling woman, he was uppercutted by Doto. "No! Kyouki!"

The man disrobed, showing off his chakra armor. He picked the princess up, telling Naruto he was wasting his chakra and time.

The fortress began to collapse, and we all managed to get out in time. "Kakashi, what do you think..." I was cut off as I dodged falling debris and kunai thrown by (of course) more assassins. We became separated and I began to run in sync with Sasuke.

"Haru-chan, how close are they?" Sasuke asked,

I dodged an attack, "20 degrees left, 5 seconds and 30 meters out! Aim for that branch!"

I waited for the larger man to get closer and I began to whip out kunai tagged with explosives. "Don't make me laugh, you little girl!"

"Enjoy!" I smiled sweetly, and threw the explosive kunai at the enemies feet.

A large explosion going nearly 100 feet in all directions manifested from my attack. Time to find Sasuke! That's when the pink haired woman and the man clashed, sending off a strong combination of painful screams and another explosion.

"What just happened?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"I'm not exactly sure." I was just as confused as him. "Lets get to the princess, hurry!"

We ran quickly, and caught up with Kakashi.

Sasuke and I both used our Chidori together, fractioning Doto's Armor . We had all but passed out from that, and I kept his head rested in my lap. "It's up to you, Naruto-kun!"

The sun began to rise and Naruto used his rasengan against Doto. "It looks like Rainbow chakra!" I obsereved and KAkashi agreed. Grass and flowers appeared at our feet, while Koukyi stared up in wonder at the Rainbow glacier mirrors.

We all did as well, and watched a scene from her past unfold. Naruto laid close beside us, and I smiled. I would have to heal them later.

"Haru-chan, don't." Kakashi smiled down at me. "Remember, they disobeyed your orders."

I giggled, "I guess so Kakashi.."

The next day, we watched a festival in honor of the returned princess. "Before we know it, the land of Snow will soon become the Land Of Spring!" Koyuki smiled.

"Are you really going to retire from acting?" I asked the woman.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to rule Land of Snow and still be an actress. I'd be out of my mind to give it up now!" She held up a script and Kakashi began to stutter. Yet the woman ran off, letting Kakashi stay in his shocked state.

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" I looked at him with worried eyes.

"That script…it's perfect!" I rolled my eyes at the man.

"Awh! Crap! I'm so stupid! I should have gotten an autograph!" Naruto whined, but Sasuke smirked.

"I already took care of it!" He held out a small envelope, and we all stared in shock. Sasuke-kun…doing something nice? This was unheard of!

"Awwh, you could have used a better picture!" Naruto whined, but he still thanked Sasuke.

"Let's go home!" I suggested, and my team nodded.


End file.
